Panels simulating tile have been produced from fiberboard or hardboard having a plane flat face. To define the periphery of individual tiles and simulate grout lines, grooves have been cut in a generally rectangular grid in the plane face of the hardboard. Typically, the grooves are covered with a black or other dark coating and the remainder of the face is covered with a white or other light colored coating.
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,907 panels simulating ceramic tile have also been produced from hardboard by applying colored inks and a resin coating on a plane flat face of the hardboard. The grout lines and any desired decorative pattern in the individual tiles is printed with ink of a desired color containing an organic silicone oil on the flat face of the hardboard. A liquid resinous top coating of another color is applied over the dried ink and the silicone oil is allowed to repel the liquid to form ridges of the liquid coating adjacent the printed pattern before the coating is dried or cured. After the coating is cured, it has an uneven thickness with hills, valleys, and plains which provides variations in the coloring of the top coating and makes the grout lines and printed pattern clearly visible through the top coating.